Without Reservations

make mistakes when we’re younger. He has grown up quite a bit since you left home.
    Give him a chance. You only have one brother.”
    Remi groaned, grabbing his face in both hands. “Goddamn it! I’m sick and fucking tired of my eyes shifting.” He dropped his hands and pointed to Jonathon’s body. “And that is just gross. Why do I want to eat it?” He stormed off toward the house.
    Chay glanced down at Jonathon. Yeah, it was pretty gross. But Chay didn’t feel the least bit of remorse. That son of a bitch tried to kill his Bit.
    Chay glanced up to see everyone staring, puzzled, after Remi’s retreating back.
    Keaton looked at Chay, his eyes wide. “You’re sure you are okay?” He reached up and felt Chay’s forehead with the back of his hand. “You don’t feel feverish. If you had silver poisoning, you’d be feverish, right?”
    “If he had silver poisoning he wouldn’t have healed,” Howard said.
    Chay shook his head. He couldn’t believe everyone made such a fuss over him. Bit was the one who could have been killed. “Don’t even start, Bit.” Chay pointed at him. “You’re already in trouble.”
    “Me?” Bit squeaked.
    “Yes, you. What the hell were you thinking antagonizing a lunatic with a gun?”
    Keaton sputtered for several seconds.
    Chay growled and shoved Bit toward the house, following the others.
    “You psychotic little Georgia Peach.” He put his hand on Keaton’s shoulder, needing to touch his mate. “Geez, Bit, you really know how to pick ‘em.”
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    Keaton stopped in front of him, turning. He looked Chay up and down slowly, a serene little smile on his face. He raised up and kissed Chay’s chin, his arms going around him. “Yes, I do.”
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    J.L. Langley

Epilogue
    Grinning like an idiot, Chay sat on the couch watching his mate dismiss his class of werewolf cubs. Bit had made a life for himself in New Mexico. For a man who proclaimed himself to be socially retarded, he had become quite the social butterfly. He still couldn’t cook worth a damn, but he’d taken to hosting all their poker games and inviting more people to boot. The man had his mother’s flair for partying.
    Chay was so proud of Bit he could bust. Keaton had also been appointed pack teacher. Keaton was doing such a fine job of teaching Remi control that John Carter had begged him to take the position.
    Keaton was now responsible for teaching the prepubescent wolves how to control themselves and pack history—a sort of, “How to be a werewolf 101”—before they actually changed for the first time. He taught his werewolf pupils at their home, so Chay helped on occasion.
    “Bye. Have a nice Christmas.” Bit waved the last of his class off, all but one at least. From the sound of it, Remi was raiding their refrigerator.
    Remi came out from the kitchen with coke and chips in hand and sat on the couch next to him. His friend was getting pretty good at hiding his werewolf instincts but Keaton continued to work with him. Remi was adjusting well, but he still had no clue that Jake was his mate. Jake fortunately seemed to be taking things in stride, allowing Remi to get used to being a wolf first.
    Remi flipped his head up in greeting.
    Chay nodded.
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    “You finish staining those bookshelves?”
    “Yup. Looks like I did it at a good time too.” He looked at Bit who had just closed the door. Chay was making the extra bedroom into an office for Bit now that Bit gave up the charade of it being his bedroom.
    Keaton stopped in the middle of the living-room floor, hands on hips, glaring at Remi. “Who said you could eat? You aren’t done with your lesson.”
    Remi groaned around a mouthful of chips and shot Chay a pleading look.
    Chay held his hands up in a you’re-on-your-own-buddy gesture. No way was he getting involved. Remi and Keaton actually got along pretty well nowadays, but that didn’t stop them from bickering at each other.
    Remi washed down his chips with a swig of soda. “Why did you let everyone else go?”
    “They were done for the day. But you aren’t.” You could practically hear the “duh” at the end of Bit’s explanation.
    Remi rolled his eyes. “I don’t know why I have to keep working. I’m older than they are.” He popped a chip in his mouth and glared up at Bit.
    “Why do I have to come to class with a bunch of little